Why Cameron had to get tough with ‘superhero’ Gordon

So, the Tory promise of a bipartisan truce with Labour at a time of financial crisis didn't last long. In his speech in the City of London this morning, David Cameron poured scorn on Gordon Brown's handling of the economy. It was Brown's "irresponsible" decisions during a decade as Chancellor that had got us into this mess, he claimed. "We need change to mend our broken economy. This lot cannot do it - not least because they cannot own up to any mistakes."

While Cameron stressed that he supported Brown's bank rescue, he said he would "never pull my punches in explaining how this government has brought Britain down" and accused the PM of a "complete and utter failure" in economic policy.

Yvette Cooper, Labour's Chief Secretary to the Treasury, shot back this morning, accusing Cameron of indulging in "juvenile political games". She
said: "It is ever more clear that the strategy of bipartisanship adopted by David Cameron at his party conference was just a short-term gimmick to get on the news, exactly the same rationale as his intervention today."

To be fair to Cameron, he had to do something. Brown and Darling, having made a cock-up of the earlier Northern Rock fiasco, got their act together for the second wave of bank failures and have done well enough not only to take the heat off Brown as party leader, but even to improve his image in national opinion polls. And although there's no guarantee this new status will last, in Europe he's been held up as a superhero.

With the Tories' big lead over Labour collapsing in recent polls, Cameron and his lieutenants were faced with the dreadful prospect of a hung parliament at the next general election instead of the landslide victory they were envisaging only weeks ago. As for Cameron's post-conference sobriquet 'prime minister in waiting', it was beginning to look a little hollow.

So the gloves are off, and we can expect them to stay off. Only the Lib Dems look like continuing to support Brown wholeheartedly. Their economics spokesman Vince Cable is supportive of Brown every time he appears on TV - one of the reasons why the rumour developed last week that Brown might actually offer him the Chancellor's job should Alistair Darling have to be scapegoated before this crisis is over.

THE MOLE: CAMERON SPEECH

FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 17, 2008